The IAPF is now making preparations to tackle our most challenging task to date. With the correct approvals which are now being sought the IAPF will assist ZPWMA at Hwange National Park’s Sinamatella. Sinamatella is considered the ‘last stand’ for the critically endangered black rhino in the region. The IAPF will be working in conjunction with the Dete Animal Rescue Trust (D.A.R.T) who is responsible for monitoring the rhino.

The IAPF operational training will be tasked with retraining a crack team of rangers from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. They will then become a reactionary unit re-deployed to the front line in Sinamatella to resist hard-line rhino poachers. They are now considered the last resort in a desperate situation where the rhino are being targeted on a daily basis. From the remaining 30, four have already been poached this year. Gunfire is heard frequently with rangers unable to locate the source in what is one of the largest national parks in the world.

A team of subject matter experts in anti poaching tactics, bush craft and conservation will be utilised during the training that is expected to take up to 3 months. These activities will be documented on film for the world to see.

All parties involved are still sourcing the critical funding that will make this project a success and give these rhino a chance of survival. Specific funding we are currently seeking is to reequip each of the rangers in this upcoming course. A full set of kit costs US$276. If anybody would like to make any contribution towards this then we would all be appreciative.

If any organisation or personal donor would like to take ownership of this project and genuinely make an impact here then please contact the IAPF for more detailed information.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it





ABOUT HWANGE

Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie) is the largest game reserve in Zimbabwe. The park lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and the widely noted Victoria Falls.

It was founded around 1928 by a 22-year-old game ranger, Ted Davidson. He befriended the Manchester-born James Jones who was the stationmaster for the then Rhodesian Railways at Dete which is very near Hwange Main Camp. Jones managed incoming supplies for the park.

Hwange National Park covers over 14,600 square kilometres. The park is close to the edge of the Kalahari desert, a region with little water and very sparse, xerophile vegetation.

The Park hosts 105 mammal species, including 19 large herbivores and eight large carnivores. All Zimbabwe's specially protected animals are to be found in Hwange and it is the only protected area where gemsbok and brown hyena occur in reasonable numbers. The population of African wild dogs to be found in Hwange is thought to be of one of the largest surviving groups in Africa today.
Source: Wikipedia